CleanGo

System Design | Individual Project | 4 months
Drone Technology; AI-Driven; Real-Time Environmental Monitoring

CleanGo is an innovative solution designed to address the persistent issue of bird droppings on vehicles, offering an environmentally friendly, AI-powered drone cleaning service. By integrating cutting-edge technologies, such as real-time environmental monitoring and automated cleaning routines, CleanGo ensures a seamless, efficient, and safe cleaning experience for car owners. The service is accessible through a user-friendly mobile application, enabling subscription-based or on-demand cleaning options while providing detailed cleaning reports, visual comparisons, and flexible payment methods.

Background

My hometown Nanjing’s lush greenery is a source of pride, but it comes with a recurring issue: bird droppings on cars parked beneath trees. During my travels to cities like London and New York, I realized this problem is even more severe in urban areas with dense bird populations.

Nanjing, China

Car covered with bird droppings

Bird droppings on pavement under a streetlight

London, UK

This experience motivated me to seek practical solutions to mitigate the problems caused by bird droppings for people worldwide, focusing on reducing the inconvenience they bring to daily life.

Current Situation

Research

Why Many Birds in Urban Areas?

Urban environments often create ideal conditions for birds, leading to higher populations in cities.

Are Bird Droppings Harmful?

Current Solutions And Their Limitations

Areas In The City That Need Cleaning

Cars parked under trees or open spaces are frequently targeted by bird droppings, with uric acid causing paint corrosion and expensive repairs if not cleaned promptly. Owners face increased maintenance, requiring frequent washing, which adds time, cost, and environmental impact.

Only 17% of drivers clean bird droppings immediately upon noticing them, while 55% wait until the next car wash

Technolgy Brainstorm

The solution involves designing a car washing drone (with station) that cleans bird droppings efficiently.

Survey

To understand the impact of bird droppings on cars and explore solutions, a survey of 47 participants gathered data on droppings frequency, cleaning habits, willingness to pay, and preferred device features. Additional questions covered income levels, car maintenance costs, and timeliness in cleaning. The responses are visualized below, highlighting user preferences and trends to inform solution development.

Exploratory Data Analysis

Frequency of bird droppings

Most Important Feature For the Device

Data Analysis with RStudio

Stacked Bar Plot:
Income vs Willingness to Pay

Willing to pay for an Automated Device

Monthly Car Maintenance Costs

Heatmap: Timely cleaning vs Frequency of Droppings

Insight

Affordability is a Priority: Over half of the users (51.06%) are only willing to pay less than $50 for an automated cleaning device

Frequent Encounters Drive Timely Cleaning: Users who encounter bird droppings more often are more likely to clean promptly compared to those with occasional problems.

Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness Lead Feature Preferences: Users rank efficiency and cost-effectiveness as the most important features for a cleaning device.

Limited Budgets for Maintenance: A majority spend less than $50 per month on car maintenance.

Interview

To gain deeper insights into the feasibility and user expectations of automated cleaning systems, we conducted interviews with individuals from diverse fields, including robotics, AI, urban planning, and residents affected by bird droppings.